Please notice that this LibGuide was created by Loren Orzechowski, a practicum student at Texas Woman's University for the Summer 2025 semester. If you have any questions about the materials in this guide, please reach out to LTOrzech@gmail.com.
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Start here! This is the beginning of your research journey - we will go through the steps to get you started on your first collegiate research project. For those that are newer to research, this guide will walk you through the typical research process in simple steps in order of how a paper is typically written. If you already have experience with research, feel free to pick the page that is most aligned to the help that you need.
Page 1 - Welcome, deciding your topic and finding key words (You are here!)
Page 2 - Searching with keywords, booleans and truncation
Page 3 - Types of sources, primary vs secondary
Page 4 - Citation style-guides
Page 5 - Databases by topic
Page 6 - Research Tutorial Modules
A great way to start your research is by reading introductory information about your possible topics. We recommend using Gale Opposing Viewpoints to give you ideas. Opposing Viewpoints lists several hot-button topics that you might find you want to research for your introductory college classes and allows you to read what people believe about said topics.
Try it out and see if you have interest in any of the topics.
Provides a balanced view of current social issues such as capital punishment and immigration. Use this tool to view pro/con viewpoints, articles, statistical information, profiles on related federal agencies and special interest groups, and more.
Keywords are beneficial to the next step in research. TAMU-SA offers access to Credo, which will allow you to search your terms and provide you with applicable keywords (related concepts) that will aid in your research. Having multiple keywords allows for better querying of information under different terms that you might not have considered to search. We will go into search operators in the next page of the guide.
Search 650+ titles including encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, & reference handbooks covering the arts, business, health, history, literature, math, religion, etc. Over 1,000 videos, 300,000 art images, and thousands of images for other subjects.
